Trabuco Outdoors Blog

The Norco Outriders

Trail boss Mike Williams, far left, leads the Norco Outriders up Trabuco Canyon Friday morning.

I had the pleasure of meeting a number of the almost four dozen riders on a trip organized by the Norco Outriders. I was asked by the US Forest Service to photograph them as continued their four day trip from San Juan Capistrano back to Norco. Later that morning there was an incident on the trail causing four of the horses to fall into a ravine, and sadly one of the horses died. Two were rescued by helicopter and one was led back safely onto the trail. Fortunately, none of the riders was seriously injured.

After talking to a number of the riders Thursday evening, I can tell you these guys were well prepared and seasoned cowboys who take their horsemanship seriously. Nonetheless, sometimes things just don't go as planned. But that's the nature of the beast for those of us who love the outdoors. Risk comes with the territory, and is a necessary component of living life with zest.  The chaparral is a rugged and unforgiving land, and I suspect the Norco Outriders wouldn't have it any other way.

 

 

 

Moonrise at Font's Point

My son Scott & I headed to Anza Borrego early last month to do some 4-wheeling and target shooting. We also managed to make it to Font's Point which overlooks the Badlands area of the state park to watch the moonrise.

This is a popular moonrise/sunset spot and there were several groups of folks doing the same thing. Seems like a popular spot to enjoy wine and chips and watch the colors change as shadow engulfs the badlands. Not a place you want to consume too much though; Font's Point has sheer dropoffs to the terrain several hundred feet below.

 

 

What is Vendanta?

To be honest, I didn't know until I visited the Ramakrishna Monastery in Trabuco Canyon. The monastery is open for visitation between 9am to 11am and 3pm to 5pm. You can can drive there, but my visit last week was via O'Neill Regional Park. Heading from Vista Point to Live Oak trail will take you near the entrance to the monastery.  In addition to the monastery and bookstore, there is a one mile long nature trail on the grounds. This is definitely a place I'm going to need to come back to again to really understand both philosphically and photographically.

Driving directions and additional info is available on their web site 

Organic vegetables, grown in this garden are also sold at the monastery

What is Vendanta? "Vendanta teaches that man's real nature is divine, that the true object of human life is to unfold and manifest this divinity and that truth is universal. Vendanta accepts all the religions of the world and reveres the great prophets, teachers and sons of God, because it recognizes the same divine inspiration in all."

Along the nature trail is a shrine to each of the world's major religions.

Heading back on Vista trail after a great sunset.

 

Irvine Conservancy Photo hike

 


The Irvine Conservancy sponsors hikes and other activities on Irvine Company land (and now on former Irvine Ranch land which was recently deeded to the County of Orange). Fortunately, one or two of these hikes per month are specifically designed for photographers including the hike I went on last Friday. We hiked up Hicks Haul Road east of the 241 Tollway. Although it was a bit hazy, there was a nice buidup of cumulous clouds around us. These programs are docent-led and open to the public. You can signup online at the Irvine Conservancy web site.

 

 

View of 241 tollway after sunset on the hike back.

Bell Ridge Trail

Bell Ridge Trail is one of my favorites in the Santa Ana Mountains, probably due in part because the trailhead is so close to my home (Robinson Ranch), and also because it is lightly visited and wild. This is not an official forest service trail and exists primarily because of the efforts of the Warrior's Society mountain bike club. The trail is accessed via the trailhead for the Bell View trail which is part of OC Parks, in this case, Caspers Wilderness Park. Unlike most of the trails in Caspers, leashed dogs are allowed on this trail, at least this section north of Robinson Ranch Road. It's a short hike from Bell View to Bell Ridge trail which is within the Cleveland National Forest. Once on national forest land, regulations are more lax and allow off-leash dogs, hunting, etc. For more info:

http://www.trabucooutdoors.com/hikes/bell_ridge_hike.htm

 

O'Neill at Night

Occasionally I take Sierra for a walk in O'Neill Park. Unlike Caspers, dogs are allowed in O'Neill although not on the wilderness trails which are the only ones I'm really interested in. Anyway, sometimes we get caught out a little late on full moon nights. Coincidently, this is when I prefer to photograph, at least in the park.

These photos were shot along the paved access road which parallels Live Oak Canyon Road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And tragically...

 

Is something watching you?

I saw this mountain lion track this afternoon in the Trabuco wash about a half mile south of the Santa Margarita Parkway bridge. I guessed that it was the right front paw of a medium-sized cougar, then emailed the photo to tracker Dick Newell to get an expert's opinion. Dick is a naturalist and tracker for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, and has a terrific web site: OCTrackers.com. Currently Dick is offering tracking classes for volunteer naturalists, rangers, animal control officers, as well as prior graduates of his basic tracking class. He plans on offering beginning tracking classes for the general public in the future, so keep an eye on his web site.

Now through the end of the rainy season is the best time for beginning trackers since tracks are often well-defined in the soft mud or damp sand of the washes. Don't forget to carry a small ruler or tape as standard equipment when you hike; they are a critical in identifying tracks. The experts can identify tracks on dry trails where we may not even notice a track, but that takes years of experience.

By the way, I was partially correct. It is likely the right rear foot of the mountain lion (aka cougar or puma) with a direct register over the right front foot of the animal. Both bobcats and mountain lions often place their rear foot directly where their front foot had been. This is know by trackers as "direct register." Sometimes you will see an indirect register as in this photo I took a few minutes later of a bobcat track. Notice how much smaller the bobcat's track is compared to the lion's.

Wildlife highway

I took Dick Newell and Don Millar's excellent (and free) animal behavior and tracking class on Saturday morning. Dick and Don are naturalists with extensive experience in animal tracking and behavior in the Santa Ana Mountains. Identifying animals by their tracks is similar to plant identification. You can do basic identification by using guide books, but there is nothing like looking at the actual tracks with someone who knows what they are doing. It also shares some similarities with bird identification. Honestly, I can't tell a bush tit from a yellow-bellied sap sucker. But those who can use several of the bird's attributes to identify them including obviously their appearance, but also their song, their movements in the trees, travel patterns, etc. Similarly, trackers look at the animal's print, its print pattern and the pressure release. Certainly you won't be a tracker after a 5-hour class, but you will come away with a good frame of reference on how to track animals, and with a good basis to learn more. And, as Dick promised at the beginning of his class, you will never look at the ground the same way again.

This class was sponsored by SAMNHA. SAMNHA also organizes hikes in the Santa Ana Mountains which are often led by "ologists" including biologists, entomologist, geologists and other experts.

Flying the canyon

What a nice way to see the canyon. I watched these two powered parachutes while hiking the Bell Ridge Trail today. It reminded me of a guy who used to hike up to the 2,500 foot level of Bell Ridge Trail and para glide down to a field at the base of the hill near Robinson Ranch Road. I would occasionally ride my mountain bike up there and watch him launch. He would wait until there was just the right amount of westerly wind before launching. Too much wind and he would be at risk of getting blown back toward the hills; too little wind and he would not be able to get the canopy fully extended before he ran out of real estate at the small launch area. That was about 15 years ago. Eventually his LZ was replaced by a new tract of homes and I never saw him again. The powered parachutes seem like they would be a lot of fun. I wonder what my wife would say if I told her I was buying a powered parachute.

Geocaching

I don't know much about geocaching, but if you do much hiking in the Santa Ana Mountains and you are the curious type, you will run across geocaches. I have stumbled across four of them on a 1.5 mile loop hike on Bell Ridge/Bell View trails. Apparently, a geocacher hides a small container (see photo) containing trinkets and a small log and a pencil or pen. Other geocachers go to a web site with the GPS locations of these geocaches. They plug the coordinates into the GPS and head out to the trail to find the geocache. The coordinates will get them to the general location, but even with the impressive precision of the modern GPS (WAAS ability, etc.), some searching is still required. Once found, the geocacher takes out one trinket and leaves one of their own. They also write down the date and any comments they have about the hike into the log. It is interesting that this outdoor activity has been around only 10 years or so, and could not have existed 20 years ago. I wonder what outdoor activities will be common in 20 years that couldn't exist with today's technology. www.geocaching.com